The Damage That They Do
by pleasant-hell
Summary: Santana and Brittany deal with the unexpected aftermath of Brittany's 18th birthday celebration.
1. Chapter 1

The first thing Santana become aware of was her mother yelling from outside her door. The next thing was the pounding in her head. As she started to sit up, she realized Brittany was laying in bed next to her, a cardboard party hat still on her head.

"Santana Kelley Lopez!" Her mother yelled, "You better get out here right now!"

Santana sighed, wondering what she did last night that warranted being yelled at this early. She looked over at the clock. It was only seven am. She'd only been in bed for three hours.

"Come to the kitchen and bring _Brittany_," her mom added before she heard her mom walk down the stairs.

Santana's eyes widened. Something must have gone down last night while they were celebrating Brittany's eighteenth birthday. The last thing she remembered was drinking with Puck and Brittany at some house party somewhere. Earlier they were with the other gleeks, but after drinking since ten pm, the rest of them went home at one that morning. Then they hit up another party and Santana's memory went blank. She sighed, figuring she may have parked in the front yard or something

"B," Santana nudged the girl next to her in the bed, "C'mon."

Brittany sleepily sat up and yawned. "What?"

"We're in trouble," Santana smoothed out Brittany's hair, "Let's go see what's wrong so we can go back to bed."

The blonde nodded and found her pants on the floor, before sliding them on and following Santana out of the room. She tripped over a box that was set down in front of the door. After she stumbled, Brittany glanced back at it before pushing it aside with her foot and exiting.

As they walked down the stairs, Santana took Brittany's hand, remembering that she never did give Brittany the super secret, super private present last night. They both passed out the second they got back.

When they got into the kitchen, Santana's parents were seated at the kitchen table. Her mother looked furious while her dad just looked lost.

"How do you explain that?" her mom immediately asked, pointing to the refrigerator.

Santana looked at the appliance, wondering where the hell this was going. She saw a paper she wrote last week that she got an A on. Brittany had insisted on hanging it on the refrigerator.

"My paper?" Santana asked, just wanting to go back to bed. She sank into a chair at the table and Brittany sat next to her, too tired and hungover to stand up.

"Next to it," her mom stated.

Santana saw some kind of certificate hanging up, but she couldn't read it from the table. She sighed and stood up to retrieve it, wondering why she was in so much trouble for a certificate. It had a gold seal on it. That was usually a good thing.

When she picked it up, she read it over. Then she read it again. Then she read it a third time. She couldn't quite believe what she was reading. She looked at her mom, "Is this real?"

"Is it real?" her mom echoed, "Santana, that's signed by the Justice of the Peace that lives down the street."

Santana looked at Brittany who had laid her head on the table and was almost asleep. Then she saw it. A glint caught her eye. The reflection of the light off of something on Brittany's hand. Her left hand. The ring finger of her left hand.

Santana recognized a ring as one she received for Christmas one year from her dad. She took a deep breath. Last night was starting to come back to her in bits and pieces.

"Don't you have anything to say?" her dad asked evenly.

Just as she opened her mouth, the front door opened and more yelling started, but this time it was in Dutch. Brittany's head shot up and she turned to the door. When she saw her parents she was wide-awake.

Santana's dad looked to his daughter as Brittany stood to talk to her parents, "What are they saying?"

Santana shrugged. She had no idea what they were saying, but she was sure that she had some idea what it was about.

"Santana, what's going on?" Brittany finally asked. "They're asking me how I could get married."

Santana sighed and handed Brittany the certificate. Brittany read it and then looked to Santana, "Um, what- we got married?"

The brunette looked down and nodded, "Yeah, it looks like it."

It took a while, but soon everyone calmed down enough to have a civil conversation.

"They have to get it annulled," Brittany's dad insisted.

Santana's mom nodded.

However Santana's dad looked at the rest of the group, "I think that's their decision."

Santana looked to Brittany who was looking back at her. The blonde looked confused, but calm. There were so many thought running through Santana's mind at the moment so she turned to her dad, "I think we need to talk about it."

He nodded. His wife looked like she was about to say something when he cut her off. He gave his daughter a soft smile, "If I would have known that there was going to be a wedding, I would have gotten you a present. Your mother and I were going to go to the lake house for the holiday weekend. But I think the lake house would be better spent on you two."

"What?" Santana's mom asked, "You're just going to…let them?"

He shrugged, "They're both adults now. They can make adult decisions."

"I suppose that sounds fair," Brittany's mom rose from the table, "It's not like none of us thought this wasn't going to happen eventually. However, I guess we figured it would be later rather than sooner."

Brittany's dad didn't seem too thrilled with the idea, but there wasn't much he could do at this juncture. He stood with his wife and glanced at Brittany, "C'mon. Let's go get you packed."

The blonde seemed reluctant to leave Santana's side, but when Santana gave her a soft smile, she nodded and followed her parents out.

"C'mon Santana," her dad stood up, "I'll come help you pack in a minute."

Santana quirked an eyebrow. Her dad had never offered to help her pack in his life. That would require seeing her underwear and bras, confirming his suspicion that his little girl had grown up. In his mind she'd be the innocent little girl that he used to chase around the house in her diaper.

She slowly walked up to her room, wondering if this was all some kind of crazy dream brought on by too much tequila. She stepped into her room and tripped over the same box Brittany tripped over earlier.

Santana had never seen it that she knew of so she picked it up and set it on her desk. She carefully opened it. After scanning the contents she pulled out a coffee mug with a picture on it. In the picture, she and Brittany were standing under a cheap looking arch, both with the kind of veils little girls wear that are attached to a plastic headband. Neither she nor Brittany seemed to care though because in the picture they're looking at each other, smiling from ear to ear and holding hands. Santana's eyes lingered on how Brittany looked at her, even when they were too drunk to remember.

When her dad walked in, he found Santana staring sentimentally at a coffee mug. He cleared his throat and Santana's head shot up. She quickly replaced the mug and went to her closet to retrieve a bag to put her clothes in.

Her dad walked over to the desk chair and sat down, watching Santana move around the room. He took his eyes off of her to glance at the contents of the box. He let out a chuckle, "You got t-shirts too."

Santana looked up at her dad, surprised at his blasé attitude this whole time. Santana was never one to beat around the bush so she just asked, "Why aren't you mad at me like mom is?"

Her dad took out one of the t-shirts and looked up at Santana, "Because I've already accepted that you're growing up and soon you won't need us anymore. Hell I don't think you need us anymore now. And Brittany's mom is right, we were all sort of expecting this. When you two found out that they passed a law allowing same-sex marriage, you and Brittany looked at each other with these little smiles when you thought we weren't looking."

Santana got some clothes out of her closet and started to fold them, "If you knew, why didn't you call us out? We thought we were keeping it a secret."

"I think, when you're in love like you two are, it's hard to keep it a secret," he sighed and looked at the shirt with his daughter's face on it. "But marriage is a huge step in any relationship. It means you're stuck together through the good times and the bad times. It means she has to listen to you walk around the house and bitch about how fat you feel and you have to….put up with whatever annoying thing Brittany might do. I just want you to think it over long and hard. I'll support you with whatever you two decide."

"You think I'm annoying?" she teased her dad, trying to lighten up the heavy tone he just set.

He smiled, "Only on days when you feel fat." He stood up and put the shirt to his chest, "How do I look?"

Santana chuckled, "You look awesome dad."

He walked over to her and swept her up in his arms, "I love you San. No matter what, okay?"

"Okay dad," Santana sighed into his shoulder, "Love you too."

He pulled away and looked at his watch, "You better get going. Traffic is going to get really bad in about an hour." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, "Here are the keys to the lake house. Don't lose those. They're our last set since your mom dropped the other ones in the bottom of the lake."

"Okay," she nodded and took them, putting them in the side pocket of her bag.

He kissed her forehead with a sad smile and walked out of the room.

Santana watched him leave before started to quickly pack. She needed to get out of this house. Her mom was mad at her, her dad was being all sentimental. It was all too much to handle at the moment.

Once she was packed, she said a quick bye to her parents and got into her car. She wanted to make one stop before picking up Brittany.

"You let us get married?" Was the first thing out of Santana's mouth when Puck opened the door, sleepy and obviously hung over.

He shrugged and squinted at the sunlight, "I didn't think it was legal or whatever."

"Where the hell have you been?" Santana asked, but then remembered who she was talking to. "Whatever."

"So you're actually like married married?" he asked leaning on the doorframe.

Santana nodded.

He smirked, "Do you want to come in and have your first affair?"

"What?" she snapped.

"Oh come on it's not like you're going to stay married," he rolled his eyes, "You're eighteen and let's face it, you're not the most faithful person on the planet anyway."

Santana's jaw and fists clenched. She was trying really hard not to hit him, "Shut up."

He shrugged at her, "I'm just speaking the truth babe."

That was it. She hauled off and hit him. A well-placed fist to his nose effectively shut him up.

"What the fuck Santana?" he screamed and grabbed it nose as blood started to pour out of it. By the time he looked up, Santana's car was screeching away from the curb.

Santana was pissed. He was pissed at Puck because he had a point. She had never not cheated on anyone. She cheated on Puck. She cheated on that football player that she could never get his name right. She cheated on Mike for the weekend that he managed to get her to go out with him.

Of course she cheated on all these guys with Brittany and that one time with Finn that still makes her sick when she thinks about it. But the point is maybe Brittany is just too irresistible to her and being with other guys was nothing in comparison.

It was that or she was a cheater. A married cheater. An eighteen-year-old married cheater.

She shook her head, trying to shake the thoughts out of her head. She had all weekend to over think. She needed to concentrate on getting to Brittany's house. Cheater or not, she needed to get her wife out to the lake house for their honeymoon. God that sounded so weird to her. Wife? Honeymoon?

This had to be a weird ass tequila induced dream.

She thought that until she pulled to a stop in front of Brittany's house. The blonde was sitting on the front porch of her house, staring off into space. Her eyes were glossy with unshed tears.

Before Santana could get out of her car, Brittany trotted over and got into the passenger's seat, tossing her bag into the backseat.

"What's wrong?" Santana asked.

Brittany shook her head, wiping her eyes, "Can we just go please?"

Santana turned in her seat and took Brittany's hand, "Brit what happened?"

"My parents are fighting," Brittany tried to blink back tears, "My dad wants me to…please San, can we just go?"

The way Brittany plead with her, Santana couldn't help, but turn back in her seat and start heading to the lake house. She glanced over at Brittany who had reclined her chair slightly and was playing with the radio. When Brittany settled on a song, she leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath.

The look on Brittany's face broke Santana's heart. She reached over and took Brittany's hand, threading their fingers together. When Santana glanced over at Brittany again, the blonde let out a small appreciative smile and gave Santana's hand a gentle squeeze.

Santana nodded and turned her eyes back to the road. She was already getting a headache from all the thinking and now she wanted to know what was wrong with Brittany. It was going to be a long weekend.


	2. Chapter 2

Santana's parent's lake house was more of a beach house in Lakeside Ohio. It was a small house with stairs that come off the back porch right onto the sandy shore of Lake Eerie.

When Santana pulled to a stop in the carport, she turned off the engine and turned to Brittany. The blonde had fallen asleep about an hour into the drive. Santana noticed when Brittany's hand had gone limp in her own.

Santana quietly got out of the car and went inside. She unloaded their bags and put them in the master bedroom. She checked all the rooms before checking that there was food in the pantry.

When she turned around, Brittany was leaning on the doorframe staring thoughtfully at the ground.

"You okay?" Santana asked, making her way over.

Brittany nodded slowly and let out a tentative smile, meeting Santana's eyes.

"So," Santana took a deep breath. She started to panic. She'd never not had anything to say to the blonde. Maybe this hiccup had ruined them. Maybe it was irreparable. Maybe this was the first crumble in the collapse in their relationship.

Santana shook her head. Maybe she was just really overacting. She's had a long day and she was still slightly hungover. She'd be damned if a piece of paper was going to ruin them. She reached out and easily hooked her pinkie with Brittany's, "What do you want to do now?"

Brittany looked behind her at the wall of windows that overlooked the water.

Santana smiled. She knew exactly what Brittany was thinking and although she was exhausted she would go along with it because Brittany was smiling and that was all it took.

It wasn't ten minutes later that they were in bikinis and in the sand.

They played in the water and laid on towels in the sand as other vacationing people moved around them.

Brittany shook out her wet hair over Santana who was on her stomach soaking up the sun. The brunette shrieked and chased Brittany into the water where an epic water fight started.

During a playful splash, a gleaming caught Santana's eye. The ring on Brittany's left hand caught the sun and reflected off of the water, drawing Santana's immediate attention.

It caused her to pause enough to get a face full of water.

Santana sputtered and splashed back, Brittany's giggling filling her ears and lightening her spirit.

Finally Santana reigned herself out and they walked back to their towels. On the way Brittany saw a dog running along the water toward them, chasing a wayward Frisbee.

The Frisbee landed by Brittany's feet and sprayed her ankles with sand. The dog smelled around her legs as she pet it's head and picked up the Frisbee. She knelt next to it and the dog licked her shoulder and she laughed, the pure sort of laughter she had.

A shirtless, tan little boy with dirty blonde hair about Brittany's sister's age ran over and smiled at her, "He likes you."

"I like him too," Brittany grinned and attempted to hand the Frisbee back.

"You can play with him for a while if you want," the little boy scratched his shaggy hair and looked behind him at a small group of boys, "I was gonna go swim with my friends."

Brittany nodded, "Okay. What's his name?"

"Asta," he shrugged, "My mom and dad named him. They told me it was from a book or something, but I don't know... I'll be back real soon."

Brittany nodded again, still smiling and petting the dog, "Have fun."

The little boy tore off down the beach and as soon as he reached the group of boys they all ran into the water.

Santana laid back on a towel and watched as Brittany ran around the beach playing with the dog. She couldn't help, but smile. She always thought that Brittany needed a dog, but her little sister was allergic so Brittany was happy just to pet ones passing in the street or at the pet store.

Santana shook her head, watching Brittany run around with the dog. That girl had boundless energy, plus she got to sleep in the car. Santana was getting tired just looking at her. She slid sunglasses over her eyes and rolled onto her stomach so she could get an even tan.

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she felt a long wet tongue lick her back and she was sure it wasn't Brittany's. Santana rolled onto her back and sat up, finding a dog staring her in the face.

"Holy shit," Santana sputtered when the dog licked her face. She pushed it away and wiped it off, "Gross."

"Aww San he likes you," Brittany laid down on her towel. The dog laid down between them and looked at Santana, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"He should like me a little less," Santana mumbled and laid back down. She felt hot, stinky breath on her face and turned her head over. The hot, stinky breath tickled the back of her neck so she just sat up.

"C'mon San," Brittany grinned and ran her hand over the dog's back, "He just wants you to like him."

Santana turned to the dog and said, "I like you. Now go away."

Brittany laughed and stood up, "C'mon Asta, she's grouchy. She needs to go inside and take a nap."

Santana thought about it and nodded, "Yeah I probably should. We didn't get much sleep last night."

Without thinking about it, Brittany gave Santana a quick peck on the lips and took the dog away, "Sleep good."

Santana watched them walk down the beach and went inside. She figured Brittany would be okay outside by herself because they'd been coming here since they were ten. She didn't bother changing before she fell into the bed.

This was kinda weird for her. This was usually her parents' bedroom. Now it was hers and Brittany's. It still seemed surreal. Sure they'd done weird things while they were drunk before, but this one took the cake.

Again Santana's descent into sleep was interrupted. The back door closing made her look up and she found Brittany standing in the doorway, looking concerned. The blonde walked over to the bed and laid down next to Santana. She wrapped her arms around the brunette's middle and kissed her bare shoulder. "Sweet dreams San."

Santana smiled at Brittany and kissed her lightly on the lips, "You too."

Brittany let out a small smiled back and closed her eyes, holding Santana close to her body.

Santana stayed awake a few more minutes just watching Brittany sleep. She felt a telltale ache in her chest as she surveyed the blonde's peaceful face. She had done enough thinking for a while and decided to just go to sleep, putting her thoughts on the backburner for later.

She closed her eyes, falling asleep in the serenity of Brittany's sleeping embrace.

When Santana woke up, Brittany was gone. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, surveying the room to see if she was in there. She didn't find Brittany so she slid out of bed and walked out of the bedroom. She found Brittany standing in front of the coffee machine, watching the dark liquid drip down into the pot.

"What are you doing?" Santana asked with a smile.

Brittany grinned back at her, "Well we're like both adults now so I thought that we should probably start drinking coffee."

Santana thought about it. She doubted that Brittany would like coffee. Santana only drank it after a really late night when she had school or something the next day. However, she shrugged, "Okay."

When it was done, Brittany poured them both some coffee. After a health amount of sugar and milk, Santana easily drank hers and Brittany was making faces as she tried.

"You don't have to drink coffee," Santana giggled, "Not all adults drink coffee."

Brittany shrugged and tossed the rest of hers into the sink, "I just thought we'd try it. It's gross though."

Santana took a sip of hers, "Are you hungry? We can eat here or go to that little place down the beach."

"I don't care," the blonde hopped up on the counter and sat down.

Santana moved to lean between Brittany's legs and set her coffee next to her. "I think I feel like staying in, but I don't want to cook. Do you want to get a pizza?" She rested her hands on Brittany's thighs and rolled onto the balls of her feet to steal a kiss.

Brittany wrinkled her nose as Santana rolled back onto her heels, "You taste like coffee."

Santana chuckled and dumped the rest of her coffee out. If Brittany didn't like to kiss her after she drank it then she wouldn't drink it.

She looked back at Brittany and saw that she was staring at the ring on her left hand. When the dancer saw that Santana was looking at her, she quickly averted her eyes.

Santana swallowed hard. She wanted badly to ask Brittany what she was thinking, but Brittany was now staring at the cabinets behind Santana, apparently not wanting to talk about it. Santana definitely wasn't going to bring it up, so she put on a smile and asked, "Pizza?"

"Okay," Brittany nodded. When she saw Santana's smile she smiled back and kissed her, "Extra cheese?"

"Of course," Santana grinned and played with the hem of Brittany's shirt.

Brittany slid off of the counter and wrapped her arms around Santana's neck. Santana reciprocated the embrace and closed her eyes. She found out a long time ago if she held her breath for a few seconds, she could hear Brittany's heart beating and it always calmed her nerves. Luckily it worked its magic this time and she let the steady beat wash over her.

The blonde pulled away too soon for Santana's liking. "I'm going to go put some clothes on."

Santana smirked and pulled at the strap of Brittany's top, "Or you could take some off."

Brittany giggled, but still made her way back to the bedroom.

"Or not," Santana mumbled to herself and picked up her phone to order the pizza.


	3. Chapter 3

Santana sat on the couch next to Brittany, eating the pizza. She glanced over at the blonde who was engrossed in the movie. When she came out of the bedroom after she ordered the pizza, Brittany's eyes were bordered with pink, the way they always were when Brittany was about to cry. However the smile on her face was conflicting with the theory that Brittany was about to cry. Santana was still suspicious and kept her eyes on Brittany. She had a feeling that it had something to do with what her dad said.

Just as she was about to try to bring it up, her phone went off. She sighed and reached to the coffee table to grab it. A little envelope on the top of her screen announced a text. She opened it and found it was from Quinn. _Please tell me Puck is just fucking with me and you didn't get drunk and married. _

Santana sighed and tossed her phone onto the couch next to her. She knew it wouldn't be long until the whole school knew. It didn't matter though. Santana could turn it into something cool. Drunk escapades were like medals of honor at McKinley High. She, Brittany, and Puck had the most medals for sure.

Brittany looked to the window and saw the sun starting to set. She laid her head on Santana's shoulder and tossed her crust back into the box.

Another text came and Santana couldn't help, but check it. It was from Quinn again. _Tell Brittany she can do better._

Santana lulled her head to rest against Brittany's. She put her phone in front of Brittany's face. The blonde took it and read the text. Brittany handed the phone back, "She's wrong."

Santana let out a soft smile and kissed the top of Brittany's head, "Yeah I think you could do a lot better."

Brittany pulled back and looked at Santana's face. "You're wrong too." She stood up, "C'mon, let's go outside."

Santana stood and slid her hands into Brittany's as they walked out the door. Brittany led the way to a hammock that Santana's dad had put up when they were little.

Santana smiled and rolled onto the hammock, pulling Brittany down on top of her. Brittany giggled while they swung back and forth, her head buried in Santana's neck.

When the swinging subsided, Brittany laid on her side next to Santana, her left hand resting on Santana's stomach. Santana picked up Brittany's left hand and ran her finger over the ring.

"Do you want it back?" Brittany posed the loaded question.

The answer to the simple question meant so much. Santana couldn't make the decision alone. She was still weary. Something in the back of her mind was whispering 'You're a cheater'. So she asked, "Do you want to give it back?"

Brittany looked up at Santana with innocent eyes, "Do you really love me?"

Santana immediately nodded. She wasn't one to say it much, but at this point she figured it was a given.

Brittany put her head back on Santana's shoulder looking out across the water. "Are you sorry we got married?"

Santana told the truth, "No."

"Do you want to stay married?"

"Do you?"

After a long pause, Brittany answered, "Yes."

Santana let out a sigh and she deflated into the hammock. She wasn't sure why she doubted the answer. "Well I guess I'll have to buy you a better ring huh?"

"Really?" Brittany looked up at Santana.

Santana nodded.

Brittany's face grew grave and she laid back down.

"What's wrong?"

Brittany was silent.

It clicked for Santana. She looked down, "B, what did your dad say?" She felt her shirt being balled into Brittany's fist. "Babe, what's wrong?"

Brittany sniffled, "He said if I stay married I have to move out. My mom told him that's stupid but they were still fighting when I left."

Santana frowned, rubbing Brittany's back. "That is stupid. We're graduating in three months and we're going to college in the fall."

"That's what my mom said." Brittany sniffled and flattened her palm against Santana's stomach. She was trying desperately not to cry.

Santana had to ask again, "Do you want to stay married?"

The blonde's answer was immediate, "Yes."

Santana felt she'd never felt the whole of Brittany's love before that moment. She was willing to sacrifice the home she'd lived in her whole life and the security that came with it to be with her.

"Don't worry about it Brittany," Santana kissed her forehead, "We'll figure it out."

They laid together on the hammock, swaying slightly in the cool night air. Santana was about to pose a plan when she heard her phone ringing in the house. Brittany moved a back so that Santana could roll out of the hammock and trot inside to catch it.

Santana pressed the green button. She wasn't really excited to speak to her mom, who was less than thrilled when she heard what happened on Brittany's birthday, "Hey mom."

"Hi honey," her voice was carefully under control, "I wanted to tell you that I support whatever you do. You know we love Brittany. Your father and I talked it over at length last night and I realized I was wrong in trying to force you into an annulment."

That definitely surprised Santana. Her mom wasn't usually one to change her opinion ever, "Thanks mom."

Her mom took an audibly deep breath, "I also spoke to Brittany's mother this morning. However it seems Brittany's father is still struggling with it."

Santana glanced to the back door to make sure Brittany was still outside, "I know. He told her that she has to move out if we stay married."

There was a long pause, "Are you?"

"Yes."

Her mother's voice softened, "Well you know she can always live here. I mean she's out daughter-in-law now."

Santana wanted to hug her mother at that moment, which was something she hadn't wanted to do in years, "Thanks mom. She's really upset."

"That's horrible. Do you girls need anything?"

"No I think we're okay for now."

"Okay honey. Be careful and don't forget to lock the doors."

"I won't."

There was another pause, "Love you."

"Love you too." Santana saw Brittany get out of the hammock through the window and start to walk to the back door. She hung up as the blonde stepped inside.

Santana held her arms open and Brittany smiled, stepping into them. Brittany mumbled into Santana's shoulder, "Let's go for a walk."

Brittany swung their hands between them as they walked along the edge of the water, "So we're like actually married huh?"

"Yeah," Santana kicked at the sand, "Do you...how do you feel about it?"

"I...I don't know," Brittany sighed, "I don't think it's bad."

"Really?" Santana asked, "Why does everyone else seem to think so?"

The blonde looked at the ground and then out into the water. "My dad said we're too young."

"My grandparents got married when they were sixteen." Santana added.

"I know. Your grandma tells me a lot and keeps telling me I'm too skinny."

Santana chuckled, "She thinks you don't eat enough."

"I love your family," Brittany confessed, "They're so much more fun that mine."

"They love you too." Santana looked over at Brittany in the full moonlight.

The blonde smiled and looked at their hands. "You need a ring too."

"Yeah," Santana looked ahead of them seeing a few groups of people huddled around bonfires. She suddenly thought of something she hadn't before. She wondered if it was too late to apply for married student housing. Then she looked over at her wife…that word was still super weird to her. Brittany was humming as they walked.

Santana couldn't help, but smile. This may have been a slightly premature marriage, but she couldn't help, but think that it was right in every way. She just needed to corner Puck and get him to tell her how this whole thing came about.


	4. Chapter 4

Santana called Puck and put the phone on speaker. She and Brittany were sitting next to each other on the couch.

"Sup," Puck answered.

"Hey," Santana looped her arms around Brittany, "We wanted to know if you remembered what happened on B's birthday."

He chuckled, "Fuck yeah I do. It was epic."

"Can you tell us?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah," he took a deep breath, "Let me see. You got us dropping off the lightweights at like one right?"

"Yeah," Santana put her head on Brittany's shoulder, "Fast forward to that party we went to."

"Oh okay," Puck went on. "Well it went down like this…"

Puck was walking along the sidewalk to the next party with an arm around Brittany and one around Santana. Oh yes he was a stud. He could feel them holding hands behind his back but he didn't care. The two hottest girls at school were out partying with him

_Anyway, he heard about this party from some college dude he was talking to at the gas station. The trio had been to their fair share of college parties, but the guy promised that this one was going to put them all to shame. _

_"Damn," Puck saw the massive house strobe and vibrate with a deep bass beat. _

_The slightly drunk girls on his arms both giggled and they all made their way to inside._

_"Dude," the guy from the gas station smiled at Puck and the girls, "You made it."_

_Puck took his arm off of Santana to shake hands with the guy who had a name, but Puck couldn't remember. He felt Brittany being peeled off of him by Santana and then watched them walk off because damn it was amazing to watch them walk away._

_He made his way to the keg and got three beers because he saw some guys stop the girls as they made their way to the booze. He bit down on the lip of his cup and carried the other two in his hands. When he got to them he put his arms around them again simultaneously handing them their beer. When they each took theirs, he took his out of his mouth and hitched his chin to the guys, "Sup."_

_The guys that were hitting on them sort of grumbled and walked off while Puck donned a smirk. He watched as Santana finished her beer in a few gulps and Brittany followed suit. Then Santana grabbed Brittany's hand and forcefully pulled Brittany to her, sending their lips crashing together._

_God he loved Santana. And Brittany. Especially when they were making out._

"You're such a perv!" Santana yelled at the phone.

"Do you want to hear the story or not?" he asked, "It's what happened."

Santana buried her head behind Brittany with a loud groan. The blonde giggled and added to Puck, "Keep going."

_Anyway, Santana and Brittany stumbled off somewhere and it was obvious that he wasn't going to get any from those two tonight so he needed to find some. Luckily there was a group of girls sitting on the couch all slightly drunk and giggling to each other. He sat on the coffee table in front of them and offered to get them all drinks._

"Okay, I don't need to know if you got some or not," Santana interrupted, "I remember what we were doing."  
"What were we doing?" Brittany asked.

"Body shots in the kitchen," Santana answered with a sly smirk.

"And you didn't come get me?" Puck whined.

"Just get on with the story."

_Anyway, he found them later. Sitting on the stairs and leaning on each other giggling uncontrollably. "You ready to go?"_

_Brittany nodded and stood up, helping Santana to her feet. They leaned on each other and started walking down the sidewalk leaving Puck to follow. After a few seconds of walking, Brittany asked, "What can you do when you're eighteen?"_

_"You can…" Santana trailed off._

_"Vote," Puck chimed in, "Go to the pen."_

_"Pen?" Brittany asked._

_"Prison," Santana explained, "You can have credit cards."_

_"You can buy cigarettes," Puck put his hands in his pockets, "You can go to clubs. Get married. Get divorced…."_

_Brittany had since stopped listening. She looked at Santana who was donning a rather thoughtful face for being so drunk. _

_She watched as Santana took off the ring on her hand and slid it into her pocket. When Santana looked up, she saw Brittany looking at her and blushed profusely. Brittany smiled at the adorableness of the blush._

_Santana slid her arm around Brittany and led them to the park down the street without her two companions noticing that they were going to wrong way to get to Puck's house._

_Puck looked around, "What are we doing here?"_

_Santana ignored him. She slid her hand into Brittany's and pulled the blonde to the slide. She gestured for Brittany to climb up. The blonde went up to the top and sat down. Then she felt Santana sit behind her with her legs on either side of her. Santana took Brittany's left hand and whispered something into her ear._

"I couldn't hear it," Puck added, "But when you two slid down the slide you told me you were going to get married and I had to come with you."

Brittany lulled her head to the side and placed a chaste kiss on Santana's neck. She definitely remembered what Santana had said. She quietly repeated it in Santana's ear, "This is where we met. I knew we were supposed to be best friends forever when we were six. Now I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. I know I don't ever tell you enough and I probably won't ever be able to, but I think I can love you enough for forever. Marry me?"

Santana smiled and stroked Brittany's hair, "Pretty good for a drunk huh?"

Puck went on with the rest of the story about how they got to the chapel and how he got them a deal on the mugs and t-shirts, but they weren't listening anymore.

Santana kissed Brittany sweetly on the lips and rested her forehead on Brittany's to confess, "I've been practicing that speech for almost a year."

The blonde looked surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah," Santana answered nervously.

Brittany kissed her with a ferocity that only came with an untamed love. Santana moaned into the kiss, not able to stop it.

"Please tell me you're video taping whatever you're doing," Puck's voice cut through the air.

Santana blindly reached over to the table and fumbled with it for a second before managing to hang up on Puck before surrendering all control to Brittany.

When Santana woke up the next time, it's because of knocking on the front door. She tried to stretch, but she found it impossible. She looked down and realized why. Brittany was sleeping soundly on top of her; a purple blanket Santana didn't recognize covering them both.

She managed to slide out from under Brittany and grab the throw off of the armchair. She wrapped it around herself and went to the front door. When she opened it, no one was there, but there was a gift basket on the front porch. The centerpiece of the basket was a large bottle of sparkling cider. Santana picked up the basket with one hand and held up the throw with the other. She walked back inside and kicked the door closed behind her.

She plucked the card out from between one of the champagne flutes and the cider. She read over it, a smile forming on her face.

_Congratulations. We love you. Me especially. - Dad _

_P.S. Your mother has a surprise for both of you when you get back._

Santana laughed which inadvertently woke up Brittany. The blonde sleepily looked up at Santana before laying back down on the couch, curling into a ball, "Cute dress."

The brunette chuckled and looked down at herself, "It's not a dress…" she trailed off realizing how cute it actually looked, "yet."

"What's in the basket?" Brittany stretched, the length of her body taking up the couch.

Santana set it down on the coffee table and sat next to it. She carefully opened the bottle and poured some for both of them. Brittany sat up and accepted her flute, looking expectantly at Santana.

"Well, I don't remember what I said for our vows," Santana let out a soft smile, "But we can try again now."

The blonde nodded wrapping the purple blanket around her torso. She looked thoughtfully at Santana and bit her lip, "I don't care whatever happens to us. I know that if you're there, I'll be okay and I'll try my best to make sure you're okay too."

Santana smiled and kissed Brittany. "Um, I will stand in line with you for every audition you want me to even if it's raining or freezing or both because I know you're going to be an amazing professional dancer."

The blonde giggled. "I love you. Always. I knew I would when we met on the slide."

"Me too," Santana tapped her glass to Brittany's. They both took a drink and quickly disposed of the glasses in favor of each other's lips.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the weekend was spent lounging around, soaking up the sun, and avoiding any talk or reality or what would happen when they got back to Lima. However it was hard to avoid thinking about it on their drive home. Neither one really decided to leave, they just both started getting ready and before they knew it they were on the highway.

The drive back was silent, but they held hands the whole way, drawing strength from each other. Santana drove past her house when she saw Brittany's mom's car and went around the block again. She could feel Brittany's hand start to tense as they got close.

Finally she parked and they got out of the car, leaving everything in it but their phones. Brittany held tight to Santana's hand. When they got to the front door, Santana stopped. She looked at Brittany and kissed her. Then she whispered, "I love you and no matter what happens we'll be okay." She kissed Brittany's cheek and turned to the front door.

With one last look to Brittany who looked nervous, Santana opened the front door. They didn't see any of their parents as they walked into the house. They went through the living room and into the kitchen before they found Santana's dad coming down the stairs. "Hey girls, you're back before we thought you would be." He hugged them both and put his hands on his hips. His jeans had paint smears on them and his shirt was dusty.

"Where's mom?" Santana asked, looking around.

"She's upstairs," he beamed. "C'mon. We're almost finished with your surprise." He nudged Brittany's shoulder, "I really hope you like it Brittany."

Santana and Brittany exchanged a questioning look as they followed him up the stairs. He led them to the top of the stairs and down the hallway to the end of it. He opened a door at the end of the hallway held it open for them. It was the door that led up to the attic.

Santana looked at her dad who was smiling at her. Brittany slid her hand back into Santana's. Attics in general gave her the creeps. All those boxes that you couldn't see through and the cobwebs screamed horror movie. Santana knew this and walked up first, keeping Brittany's hand firmly in her own.

"Honey, the girls are here," her dad called up past them and then followed them up.

Their moms appeared at the top of the stairs before Santana and Brittany could make it all the way up. They both smiled down at them, both in paint stained clothes.

Santana frowned, "What's going on?"

"It's your surprise," Brittany mom grinned. She looked wistfully down at her daughter.

The blonde again looked to Santana who shrugged. She took the last step into the attic and finally saw what the big deal was about. Her jaw dropped open. Brittany was donning a similar look next to her.

The parents watched their daughters and the girls surveyed the room. All the dusty boxes had been moved out. The floor had been refinished and polished. The sloped roof had been painted a light lilac color that framed Santana's bed. There were nightstands on each side of the bed and a wardrobe on the opposite wall. There was a small area by the wardrobe that was closed off by curtains, but one of the curtains was pulled back revealing a small, cramped bathroom.

Brittany's mom put her hand on Brittany's shoulder, trying to restrain tears. She kissed the side of her daughter's head.

Santana walked over to the wardrobe and opened it, finding it divided in the middle. Half her clothes and half Brittany's. She turned back to look at her dad who just smiled and nodded.

The quiet was broken by Santana's mom who looked at her daughter's outfit, "Is that my throw?"

Santana looked down at her new sundress. Which was made from a throw that she was sure her mom would never miss. "Yes?"

Her mom just shook her head, her smile not leaving her face. She looked at Brittany, "What do you think Brittany?"

The blonde looked hesitantly at Santana's mom, "Is this for…us?"

She got an affirmative nod and then looked to Santana. She searched Santana's face for the smallest reaction. A smile formed on Santana face and she hugged Brittany and then she hugged her dad, then her mom. She even hugged Brittany's mom.

"You okay?" Brittany's mom asked her.

Brittany looked at her mom and nodded. She let out a small smile. She wanted to ask if this meant that her dad was really kicking her out, but she didn't want to ruin the mood. Santana looked damn near ecstatic.

"I've never met a married couple who lived in separate houses. At least not a married couple who actually liked each other," Santana's dad rested a hand on Brittany's shoulder, "And since we had the extra room, we figured that you two could move over here."

Santana could see through her dad's veiled attempt to take away from the probability that Brittany's dad didn't actually want her back in the house. She moved to Brittany's side and wrapped her arms around Brittany's waist. She rested her chin on Brittany's shoulder, "You okay?"

The blonde took a deep breath and nodded. She looked at Santana with a sad smile that Santana could see right through. Santana looked to Brittany's mom for help.

Brittany's mom looked at Santana's parents, "Can we have a minute?"

"Sure," Santana's dad nodded, "C'mon Santana, we actually have something to discuss with you."

Santana was reluctant to leave Brittany, but eventually did with a quick kiss on the cheek and a reassuring squeeze.

Once the entire Lopez family was in the kitchen, they all sat at the table. Santana folded her hands in front of her. She looked at her parents who were both looking right at her.

"Well," her mom started, "I don't know if you two have talk about it, but we were wondering if you wanted to have some sort of formal wedding or a reception of some kind."

Santana shrugged. She couldn't care less. She had Brittany and that was what counted.

"If you do," her dad added, "You can plan it all yourself if you'd like. We have a Santana wedding fund that we've been growing ever since you and Brittany were pretending to get married on the playground at your elementary school."

Santana chuckled. It seemed like it was all destined to be. They got married when they were little and they were married now. She had to ask, "You have a wedding fund for me?"

"We have a Santana wedding fund, college fund, Brittany's college fund. First house fund and so on," her dad rattled off, "If we thought you'd need a large amount of money for it, we started to save for it."

Santana studied them, "Did you say Brittany college fund?"

Her mom nodded, "She's been like part of the family for such a long time it just seemed natural. It's not as much as yours because it got started a lot later, but since you both got into the same college and are planning to live together, I don't think the difference matters much."

The Cheerio stood up from the table and walked around it, pulling her parents into a three-way hug. She'd taken them for granted for a long time and now they did something like this and she truly appreciated them.

Up in Brittany and Santana's new bedroom, Brittany and her mom sat on the bed together. Her mom was explaining that her father still loved her, but was having a difficult time with the situation. Her mom seemed a little more than pissed at Brittany's dad, but was trying not to show it.

"You're always welcome to come home," her mom ended with, "You're my baby and I love you."

Brittany sniffled and nodded, her eyes on the ground.

Her mom stroked her hair, "You've grown up so fast and soon you'll be in college." She took a deep breath, "You're going to do great things Brittany. You're beautiful and talented and you have the support of me and your new in-laws as well as your constant guardian and now wife." Brittany smiled and nodded. Her mom continued, "I just wish you would have grown up a lot slower."

Brittany leaned into her mom and gave her a hug, "I love you mom."

"I love you too," her mom replied, "And you have to promise me now that you'll come home for Christmas every year when you're in college."

Brittany grinned, "I promise."

Her mom looked around at the newly minted bedroom, "Are you going to be okay in here? Do you need anything? Blankets? Santana's mother and I are going to get your desk later today because I know you like it."

The blonde Cheerio looked around the room. It was pretty great for only having been worked on for three days. She couldn't see anything huge missing, but her desk was going to be nice to have. She shook her head, "I like it."

"I knew you would," her mom smiled, "You were always rather independent." She rubbed Brittany's arm, "Let's go downstairs. I think Santana's parents were talking about having some kind of barbeque."

Brittany nodded and stood with her mother. When she turned around though, she saw Santana walking up the steps and stop at the top.

Brittany's mom smiled at the two, "I'll give you two some times to get used to it." She disappeared down the stairs.

Santana walked over to Brittany and sat on the edge of her bed. The blonde dropped back on the bed.

"So," Santana looked her over, "Is this okay with you?"

"Is what okay?"

"Everything," Santana offered, "This is happening really, really fast. We were planning to live together when we moved out, but we still have three months of school and," She smiled, "We're married."

Brittany leaned into Santana. She rested her head on Santana's shoulder, "I like this room."

"Me too," Santana stroked her hair, "I've been begging for my parents to let me move into the attic for years. If I'd have known all I had to do was get married…."

Brittany giggled. She kissed Santana's cheek. She sat up and took a deep breath.

"So you're okay?" Santana asked.

Brittany nodded, "My, um, my mom said that my dad is still doesn't want me to move back in with them."

"I know," Santana rubbed Brittany's back, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I wanted to live with you anyway."

"He'll change him mind," Santana turned sideways on the bed and crossed her legs toward. "My mom wanted to know if we wanted to have an actual wedding or a reception or something. Do you?"

Brittany shrugged, "Why would we get married again?"

Santana grinned, "I thought that too. So do you want to have a reception? We could invite all of our friend and family and get totally fabulous dresses."

"Sounds fun," Brittany smiled.

Santana looked at Brittany, smiling. This was all surreal. They were married. They got to live together and soon they would be graduating. They were going to college together. Life was just starting for them and she wasn't scared at all. She had Brittany. Forever and for always.

"I love you," she whispered, like it was their little secret.

The blonde giggled and kissed Santana, "I love you too."

Santana deepened the kiss and moved so that Brittany was laying on her back on their bed. Their parents could wait a few more minutes. They were going to break in their new bedroom.

* * *

The End. Hope you enjoyed it.


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